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May 19, 2009 - Primary Election Day.

The foundation of my candidacy is the bedrock conviction that we can be a better city if we work together to address and resolve our common concerns.
I intend to bring positive action to the challenges we, the citizens of Harrisburg, must confront and resolve. Set forth below are a few of the important action items we must immediately address. These are the beginning of our policy agenda, which we will roll out in greater detail in future weeks.

We must immediately develop and implement plans to improve city services, such as trash collection and street paving, while meeting the financial challenges under which the city currently operates. A clean city sends a message that we care; this is a requirement that is reasonable and achievable. We will revamp all bureaucratic impediments to enforcing city codes around trash, litter and dumping. And we will establish, fund and enforce best practices around keeping our city clean.



Strong educational systems contribute profoundly to individual and community growth and prosperity. My administration will insure that our school system has the strong, effective and consistent leadership and systems in place that are necessary elements of high student achievement. My administration will be honest and open about the challenges we face. As a former teacher, I understand that we must all make a commitment to improving student achievement, graduation, college admission and retention rates, and that we must become vocal partners in job training programs for our citizens. I will be an active leadership force within our schools, and I pledge to make our schools accountable to the public.



Our citizens are burdened with the highest per capita debt in the Commonwealth. We must seek out, examine and determine the best solutions to address this dilemma. And then we must enact them. We must resolve not to allow the dysfunction of the past, or the lure of easy solutions to distract us from the work of implementing rational, achievable and sustainable budgetary policies. We must work in concert with city council, the city controller and other officials, as appropriate, to fashion those fiscal policies that will enable our city to move forward without fear of imminent financial distress.



We must build a stronger, more diverse business base, by working with the public and private sectors to secure more robust financial investment in the city. We must work with local, state and national leaders to establish businesses within the city that create job growth. We must advocate for our participation in any expanded job training opportunities offered through block grant funding, national stimulus packages and other methods. We must coordinate our efforts with the programs offered by local colleges, such as HACC, Harrisburg University and Penn State.



We must develop and implement plans to improve our entire outmoded and overworked infrastructure, including storm drains and sewage systems.



Our citizens deserve to be safe and secure. City businesses and their patrons deserve to be safe and secure. An unsafe city is a place paralyzed by fear. My administration will budget at the level required to make certain that there are sufficient public safety officers employed and deployed around the city. My administration will work with city council to secure the appropriate funding levels for safety and security. And we will spend the funds appropriated for the purposes designated. We will work with local community organizations to address the concerns around public safety and to implement effective proactive measures around crime prevention. We will participate in a more comprehensive manner with state and national initiatives around crime prevention and neighborhood development, such as “Weed and Seed, “ and the Elm Street Project. We will allocate resources to fund grant writing to elicit additional crime prevention and safe streets funding.

Public engagement is crucial to strong government. My administration will conduct business in the light of day. We will act, whenever possible, after eliciting appropriate public input.